Your Daily Dose of Admissions

The York School Sets Out To Build Exceptional Classes Using Kira

The York School is a co-ed IB World School located in Toronto, Canada that offers a progressive, international, and highly personalized experience for every one of its 675 students.

In addition to a major renovation that has transformed the space from a 1950s office building into a contemporary learning environment, the school is revamping their admissions process by adding timed video and timed written assessments.

They are one of the first private K-12 schools in Canada to do so.

The new assessment is intended to help the admission committee get additional context and deeper information about each applicant for their key intake years, given the rising number of students applying to the school.

Rather than focusing on traditional metrics such as grades and test scores to determine a student’s eligibility, The York School will have a chance to virtually meet students before they come to campus and weigh in on their potential and motivation to attend the school.

“Our applicants will have an opportunity to respond and share more of who they are in a highly creative format,” said Praveen Muruganandan, Director, Admission and Advancement for The York School.

With a better understanding of students’ motivations and backgrounds from viewing their Kira assessments, The York School will be able to give teachers an opportunity to get to know their future students earlier. Teachers can then use these insights to build customized learning experiences for their incoming classes.

“We’re engineering the classes so that the students have the best experience at the school,” said Muruganandan. This forward-thinking approach to enrollment is part of what makes The York School so different.

Aligned with the School’s mission to prepare students to be global citizens, the new assessment gives students early exposure to the types of admissions criteria they’ll likely face as they progress their education and careers. Top programs at universities including INSEAD, London Business School, Yale, and Rotman all require timed video and written responses in their admissions process.